Of Prickly Bunnies and Punis
by Chibiscuit
Summary: Gino pays Lias a visit after the younger's ordeal. Gino/Lias


**This one got a little out of hand and I have no clue how that happened. I just wanted to write a short scene between Lias and Gino, taking place right after Lias' final event. But it became somewhat longer... **

**Also this has been sitting in my documents for months now and I thought I might as well post it even if Gino/Lias fans are probably... few to say the least.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
**

* * *

"Good for you, Lias-kun.", Meruru whispered as she leaned against the closed door. Lias had seemed so happy at Rufus' praise; Meruru couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like that. _'You deserve it'_, she thought with a smile. As she looked up she saw Gino coming her way. He raised his hand in greeting, "Yo, Meruru."

"Ah, Gino-san, what are you doing here?"

"I heard there were some really strong monsters near town and wanted to go fight them but-"

"Ah right," Meruru interrupted, "They're already all done for you know."

"I know," Gino carried on, "but someone who can single-handedly defeat a bunch of monsters HAS to be strong, right?" Meruru nodded slowly, slightly amused at Gino's unconscious praise of Lias.

"I knew it!", Gino suddenly exclaimed making Meruru jump a little. "Who was it, Meruru? Tell me! I wanna challenge him right now!", Gino asked enthusiastically.

"Eh? Right now?!", Meruru asked incredulous, even though part of her wasn't really that surprised anymore.

"Of course! I can't let the chance slip away!"

"But Lias-kun still needs to rest up…"

"Lias? He beat all those monsters?" Well he certainly didn't expect that. Though the gatekeeper had promise, he still always lost to Gino whenever they sparred. "Really?", he asked again to be sure.

Meruru nodded, feeling strangely proud of her childhood friend. "And he finally got the praise he deserves from Rufus too!", she added happily.

"Hmm…", Gino thought about it. Had Lias really become that strong so fast? Or maybe those monsters hadn't been that tough after all? _'Mah, the easiest way to find out is to see for myself! And for that I need to fight him!'_, he thought determined. _'Oh. But wait… didn't he say he froze under stress…?' _Gino vaguely remembered a conversation he'd accidentally overheard after a particularly difficult battle.

"Gino-san…? Hellooo… you still there?", Meruru waved in front of his face but got no reaction. "Aaaaand he's gone." Deciding to leave, Meruru said a farewell that went unheard by any but herself.

"Well, I'll just… ", Gino started but suddenly noticed he was alone. "Huh? Meruru?" He looked around confused, scratching the back of his head. Then he shrugged and knocked on the door before entering.

"Yo, Lias!", he greeted, closing the door behind him. From the large bed, Lias tiredly sat a bit more upright. He looked over at his grinning visitor.

"Huh? Gino, what do you want?", the ravenhead asked, suppressing a yawn. He'd nearly managed to fall asleep again. Almost…

"I came to challenge you!" The adventurer's grin only grew at the announcement.

"Haaah? Challenge me? Now?", the gatekeeper stared in disbelief at him, gesturing with one hand at himself to show his current state.

"Okay not now, but later.", Gino answered a bit sheepishly. Lias just stared at him, clearly confused as to why Gino was suddenly so eager to fight him.

"I heard you beat up those monsters all alone.", Gino explained as he walked closer to the bed.

"I guess…", Lias mumbled. _'So that's why.'_

"Heeeh,", Gino's impressed reaction slightly filled Lias with dread, "so what were they? Demons, dragons, or maybe large beasts?!" Gino carried on excited, getting closer to Lias with each suggestion.

Lias glanced away from the adventurer. He'd feared that question. "…Prickly Bunnies…", he mumbled. Gino leant in closer, "What? I didn't hear ya."

"Prickly Bunnies!", Lias replied somewhat louder than he wanted to. Gino blinked before stifling a laugh.

"P-prickly b-bunnies?!", he managed to get out, failing desperately at not laughing.

"Yes… a lot of them.", Lias retorted, slightly annoyed at being mocked.

"I.. I see."

Lias levelled him with a glare making the adventurer raise his hands in apology. "Sorry; sorry, it's just… with the description I was given… ah never mind."

Lias' expression softened a bit. "So was I actually", he admitted.

"In the end, you should never underestimate an enemy because of their appearance." Gino said strictly.

"You almost sounded wise just now.", Lias remarked dryly.

"Well I AM a first-rate adventurer!", Gino replied proudly, completely missing Lias' sarcasm. The ravenhead sighed but said nothing of it. "Mah, you won and defended Meruru. You're well on your way to becoming a first-rate adventurer like me yourself. Well, almost like me at least."

"Like I said, I don't want to become an adventurer!", Lias yelled desperately.

"That reminds me of when I learned my first special skill…", Gino carried on completely ignoring Lias' protest.

"And against what was that then?", the gatekeeper asked with a sigh, figuring Gino wasn't going to listen to any of his objections anyway. Besides he was a little curious about the story.

"A Puni." , Gino announced.

"A Puni?" Lias repeated.

"Yeah, with a flower pattern on its body.", he added.

"One flowery Puni?" Lias stared at the other, "And you were laughing at a group of Prickly Bunnies?"

Gino scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassed. "Well, it was a strong Puni and Totori was in danger so…" He sat down on the end of the bed and started telling about the events that had lead up to that battle (excluding Totori's fluke victory) and from there they ended up from one conversation into another. Exchanging one story after another and sharing tips on fighting. Gino did most of the talking though. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Lias-san, I have brought you some supper so you can regain some strength." Keina's voice called out politely from the hallway.

"Supper?", Gino wondered to himself while Lias told Keina she could enter. Gino looked out the window, "Ah she's right, it's dark outside." When did it get so late?

"Oh Gino-san, you're here as well."

"Hey Keina!", he greeted her.

"Good evening Gino-san.", She returned the greeting and then turned to Lias, "Did you rest well, Lias-san?"

"Oh right you were supposed to rest…", Gino intervened. He'd completely forgotten about that. "You didn't do that at all.", he pointed out.

"And who's fault would that be, hm?" the ravenhead retorted, more amused than irritated at the moment. Keina looked confused between the two. Since when did they get along like this?

"Lias-san.", she said a bit louder to get his attention again. When he turned to her she continued, "I'll leave your supper here." She handed over the tray and Lias put it in his lap. "Thanks Keina."

"No problem. It's part of my job after all." Lias had doubts about that last part but left it as it was. He was glad and grateful she'd gone through the trouble of bringing him food. He was starving!

Just as she was about to leave Keina turned around again. "Gino-san, if you're hungry I can bring you some as well. There's plenty more in the kitchen.", she offered. She smiled when she saw the adventurer's face lit up at her offer.

"Won't say no to that!", he exclaimed happily. With a smile Keina left and a few minutes later came back with another plate. "Here you go. Enjoy your supper." Gino quickly thanked her before she left again.

"Wow! This looks great! Let's dig in!" Without waiting for a reply Gino started eating. After a few bites he hummed contently. "Hmmm, Arls' food ishn't hab bad." He mumbled happily, hardly pausing to say the words properly. Lias merely shook his head and started eating as well. He'd only taken two bites though when he suddenly started to choke. Gino heard the noise and looked up to find Lias desperately beating his chest in an attempt to get the food out. Gino quickly got up, dragged Lias out of bed and got behind him. Since the gatekeeper was slightly taller than him, Gino had stand on his toes to get to the correct height. On small mistake could lead to more damage instead of helping the boy after all. Before his companion even realized what was going on, Gino had wrapped his arms around him and with one swift and powerful move the piece of food was forced out.

Gino let go and patted Lias' back who was coughing a little. "Tsk tsk, you shouldn't eat so fast."

"Don't wanna…", he coughed, "hear that *cough* from ..you."

Gino laughed as he gave one more extra powerful pat. His smile fell when he noticed his food was lying on the floor. "Must've knocked it over…", he mumbled. He tried to see if there was anything left on the plate but it had flipped upside down so that nothing could be saved.

"All that good grub…", Gino said disappointed. His stomach growled in cue making the boy sigh. Lias looked over at the older boy's dejected face, sighed and held out his own plate which had miraculously survived the ordeal. "Here."

"Hm?" Gino glanced from Lias to the plate and back. "Are you sure?", he asked. Lias nodded and Gino immediately took up his offer.

"Not everything!", Lias yelled when Gino started wolfing down the food. He stopped for a second to apologize and went to sit next to the gatekeeper. They shared the rest of the food. It wasn't long before there was another knock on the door. Keina entered again.

"Is everything all right?" Her voice was laced with worry. "I heard a clatter and came as soon as I could."

"We're fine Keina.", Lias answered. Keina let out a breath of relief.

"Ah but…", Gino started and looked at the dirty floor. "Sorry 'bout that.", he apologized sheepishly. Keina smiled, "No problem." She left and came back with some cleaning equipment. "This will only take a minute." She quickly cleaned it up while Lias and Gino finished up the rest of their food.

"Gino-san, it's already late. If you want, why don't you stay for the night?", Keina suggested when she was done.

"Oh great! Then we can have our duel first thing tomorrow!"

"Is that really all you think about?", Lias sighed.

'_You're not really one to talk though'_, Keina thought.

"It's why I came here!", Gino explained.

"Well I wish you both a good night then.", Keina said and left the both of them alone again.

"Let's call it a night then." Lias nodded in agreement. He still hadn't had a chance to properly rest up after today's ordeal and the food was making him even sleepier. He couldn't help smiling to himself at the memory of his brother's approval and praise. He crawled into bed. When he had settled he saw Gino in the middle of taking his clothes off.

"G-gino!", Lias called startled. At the mention of his name the adventurer paused to turn his attention to the ravenhead. He cocked his head slightly to the side waiting for Lias to continue.

"What are you doing?", Lias asked when Gino didn't respond.

"Undressing." Gino stated, obviously confused by the question.

"I can see that…", Lias answered, getting even more tired from dealing with the other. "But why?"

"I can't sleep in these clothes, can I?", Gino gestured down at what remained of his clothes. Lias didn't object. There was truth in Gino's words after all. Though why the older boy insisted on walking almost naked through the hallways was beyond him. Maybe it was an adventurer thing. Seeing as he got no answer Gino quickly finished undressing, leaving him standing in nothing but his underwear.

"Go to sleep. You need it right?", he advised when he noticed Lias still hadn't stopped staring at him.

"Right…", the gatekeeper laid down and pulled the covers over him. "Turn off the lights where you're done.", he mumbled as an afterthought.

"Got'cha.", was the reply and a few footsteps later the room went dark. Now that he was finally lying in bed, Lias felt tiredness creep up on him quite fast. In his half-sleep state he didn't pay much attention to the slight denting of the mattress or the short whiff of cold air that ran past his side.

"Night." A loud whisper came from his right side.

"Hrm…night…", Lias mumbled sleepily.

…'_Wait…'_

"GINO?!", Lias exclaimed turning towards the boy. "What… I…" he searched for the words.

"Hm?"

"I…", Lias sighed deeply, "Never mind… just… goodnight." He gave up. He was much too tired for this and really didn't care to hear why the other was in his –well Meruru's- bed with him.

"Right, night.", Gino said once more. Before long they were both fast asleep.

* * *

The morning sun crept through the window, illuminating the two sleeping figures' faces in the princess' chamber. Gino slowly woke up, letting out a small groan at the bright sunlight. At the feeling of something warm underneath his right side and soft breathing on his head, memories of yesterday came back to him.

'_Right, I stayed at the castle.'_, he thought. Opening his eyes slightly, he let them adjust to the light and slowly lifted his head a little to see that Lias was still sound asleep.

'_Time for a duel!'_ All thoughts of challenging the boy left him however when he saw the gatekeeper's peaceful expression. _'He looks so calm and relaxed.'_, Gino pondered, studying the other's face. The adventurer smiled despite himself. _'It's a good look. Almost… ',_ he searched for the word to describe it, _'Mah, Totori'd call it… cute…? I guess?'_ He let out a small laugh at his own words. What was he even thinking?

Ignoring the fact that in the night he'd somehow snuggled up to the ravenhead, Gino went about contemplating what to do next. He vaguely remembered having a job to do and judging by the position of the sun it was already quite late into the morning. But if he got up there was a good chance he'd wake Lias up. Considering he was the reason Lias hadn't gotten his much needed rest yesterday and the fact that he'd shared his food and bed with him, Gino decided to lay down again. He'd just wait until Lias would wake up on his own. The soft breathing and rhythm of the other's heartbeat lulled Gino back to sleep in no time.

* * *

Meruru let out a long sigh. She'd been waiting at the castle gates for at least an hour now. Normally Lias would already be there before her. _'Maybe he's still not feeling okay?'_, she wondered. But in that case he'd have asked Keina or someone else to inform her. He wouldn't just keep her waiting in vain. _'Or maybe he's counting on my other bodyguard?'_

The gate opened and she looked over expectantly but it was just another soldier. _'Speaking of which… why isn't Gino-san here either?'_ That was strange. Gino would sometimes be a little late but he always showed up. Besides, he knew they were going to face the wyvern. There's no way he'd pass up the opportunity to fight such a powerful foe!

"That's it, I'm gonna go look for them!" Meruru exclaimed, arms raised high. "Let's see… first I'll go look for Gino-san in the tavern. He doesn't have any excuse not to be here…. I think."

So said she hurried on her way.

* * *

Back in the royal bedroom(not Dessier's), Lias slowly woke up. When he did there were three things he noticed: one was that it was already very late judging from the brightness assaulting his eyes, secondly was that there was something –or rather someone- warm covering the right part of his body and lastly he felt very rested. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept this well. In his content, still sleepy state it took him a while to think of checking who his new heat source was.

However, a few seconds of thinking later and Lias remembered all about yesterday. From the ordinary morning, through the midday ordeal all the way to the evening conversations.

'_Gino.'_, he concluded. A careful glance through half-lidded eyes confirmed his guess. The adventurer was fast asleep, his grey hair pricking softly against Lias' cheek. He couldn't remember going to sleep in this position though but he couldn't really say he disliked it. After all, he'd slept great.

'_Does he always sleep this late in?'_, Lias wondered idly, '_If I did that my job-'_ His eyes flew open as he suddenly realised he was supposed to meet up with Meruru early for a job.

'_I'm probably late already.'_, he sighed. Was he going to waste his brother's trust after only one night?! No, he couldn't let that happen!

'_But…'_ He glanced at Gino again. '_If I get up, I'll wake him up as well.'_

Lias pondered the problem. On one hand, he'd promised Meruru a week ago that he'd go with her today and it was his job. Also, the reason he'd been so tired and slept so long was because Gino had kept him up all evening. On the other hand, it was sort of fun, more so than Lias had imagined it could be, and the adventurer _had_ saved his life.

'_He looks so peaceful.'_ Lias thought suddenly as he was contemplating what to do. _'Not that different from when he's awake actually…'_

Absentmindedly he stroked the grey hair softly. Lias couldn't believe the other was really older than him- More so a full-fledged adult even!

A small but sudden movement on Gino's part made Lias freeze. He suddenly became very much aware of what he'd been doing. The gatekeeper held his breath and felt his heartbeat speed up a little as he waited. Much to Lias' relief Gino didn't wake up.

Lias had decided. He was just going to try and go back to sleep and thus let Gino sleep as well. _'Meruru always hires a second bodyguard as well so it should be fine. And there are enough adventurers in Arls now, just in case.',_ Lias told himself, pushing any guilty thoughts out of his mind.

Instead, he tried to think of other things whilst being very careful not to do things like stroke Gino's hair again.

'_It's surprisingly soft…' _

It took him a moment to realise what he'd just thought. He sighed, _'…this is no good…'_ Trying a something different approach, he thought about yesterday's events which proved distracting enough. He hadn't expected to feel such joy and pride again merely by remembering his brother's approval.

His mind carried on. _'How did I even choke when I was eating so calmly?'_, he wondered, _'Am I really that unlucky? Even though I try this positive thinking thing Meruru advised?'_

As he looked upon Gino's still calm face, heard his soft breathing and even heartbeat and remembered how well he'd slept, Lias had a hard time believing he really had such bad luck. In fact, the more he thought about it, the luckier he felt right now.

Before he could find out why, he fell asleep again, heart and mind content.

* * *

Meruru let out a long sigh as she exited the tavern. Gino wasn't there and according to Filly hadn't been there since yesterday around noon. None of the other adventurers seemed to have any idea where he was either. Nobody even knew where he was staying so she couldn't even go visit his house!

'_Maybe he's at the Weapon Shop or… Oh! I know! The atelier!'_ Completely convinced she'd figured out the adventurer's location she headed off back to the atelier.

* * *

"Cleaning~ cleaning~", Keina sung happily to herself as she walked through the corridors of the castle. Her song turned into a hum when she stopped in front of Meruru's room. She put down her cleaning equipment and softly knocked on the door twice. When there came no answer the maid presumed she'd been right and the room was empty. She'd figured Lias would be up and about by now. Meruru had told her they were going to face a rather powerful opponent today, or at least leave to do so.

She opened the door and pushed it further open with her back whilst picking up the equipment again. Backwards she entered the room, still humming contently to herself. Cleaning Meruru's room was her favourite part of her routine. Even if with the lack of the princess it hardly needed cleaning at all these days.

Lost in her thoughts, she took hold of her mop and turned around to start. She let out a startled scream as she saw she wasn't alone at all. "Oh erm Lias-san, Gino-san, I … I thought that... I'm so sorry…!" Red with embarrassment and unsure what else to do, she dropped her mop in a panic and ran out of the room. The door slammed close.

Lias and Gino instantly woke up from the noise. The gatekeeper's instincts activated and he was on immediate alert, flinging himself upright in bed. This successfully knocked Gino over who fell off the bed before he knew what was going on. Lias looked in the direction of the thud and saw the adventurer sit on the floor looking around dazed.

"Wha?", Gino said groggily, rubbing his eyes clear of sleep.

"Gino?", Lias asked, having momentarily forgotten he was supposed to be here. "Oh right.", he quickly realized.

"Hmr.. Ah! Lias!", the grey-haired youth finally acknowledged the other's presence (or his own for that matter). "You're finally awake!"

"Finally? Me?", Lias looked at him incredulously, "You're the half-naked one still half-asleep on the floor."

Gino blinked a few times, took in his own state and blushed slightly. "A-ahaha.." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and got up, silently wondering how he had ended up on the floor in the first place. A ray of sunlight hit his eyes as crawled back in the bed. "Oh right I have a job to do!"

At the word job Lias remembered his own appointment with Meruru, "You're right! Me too!" He quickly got out of bed and searched for the fresh pair of clothes that he knew Keina had brought for him yesterday.

"I hope Meruru didn't leave without me. " Gino mumbled as he got up as well to collect his discarded clothes. He'd have to make a quick trip to his house and back to change and get his supplies.

"…Wait, Meruru?", Lias briefly stopped looking to turn to Gino.

"Yeah, we were gonna go fight that wyvern at Modius Ruins today."

"You too?", Lias asked.

"Hm? Oh you coming too Lias? Great! We can have a competition instead of our morning duel then!", Gino replied happily, already looking forward to working with Lias. "Oh.", Gino suddenly realized, "but if we're her two bodyguards then that means…"

"That there was nobody there to meet up with her this morning!", Lias finished, having reached the same conclusion. There was a small pause in which they just stared at each other.

"We better get going.", Gino said finally. Lias nodded.

"But I didn't get to prepare any things yesterday." Lias said looking meaningfully at Gino who merely grinned. There was no real malcontent behind the accusation.

"No worries! I have everything we need!", Gino answered proudly, "…but not here…" he finished mumbling.

"You prepare beforehand?", Lias asked surprised, "How unlike you."

"Hey! I'm always ready for some adventuring! No matter where, no matter when!", the adventurer grew more proud with the minute, "I AM a first-rate adventurer after all!"

Lias didn't object, there was no time to be discussing this. They quickly agreed to get ready and meet up at the castle gates. Gino had to make a quick trip home and back but that didn't take long. When he arrived at the castle again he was surprised to see only Lias.

"Where's Meruru?", he asked when he'd joined him.

"No clue. Maybe she was angry and left?", Lias guessed.

"That is so unprofessional.", Gino joked. Lias gave him a look but couldn't resist smiling back a little. They decided to wait a little longer in the hope Meruru would come back.

* * *

"AAAaaah! Where are they?!", Meruru yelled to no-one in particular, arms raised skyward in frustration. She'd searched all around Arls and couldn't find even a trace of Gino or Lias. It was like they had disappeared from the face of the earth. Meruru felt exhausted and she hadn't even faced one monster yet! In an act of desperation she decided to go back to the castle gates to check if they were there. Not that she had much hope they would. Even _her_ optimism had its limits.

She froze and stared wide-eyed at the gates. They were there, they were really there. As they spotted her Gino waved at her, "Oooy! Meruru! Over here!" The princess rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things but they were still there. Both happy and irritated she ran over to them.

"Yo, Meruru!", Gino greeted when she was close enough, "Where've you been?"

Meruru stared at him in disbelief. Where had she been? Where had she been?! About everywhere that's where! He couldn't be seriously asking her that question, right? …he was.

"Where were you two?", she asked, trying to keep calm. She was sure they had a perfectly good reason for all this.

"Hm? We? Oh we were at the castle the entire time." Technically it wasn't a lie, Gino figured, "Right, Lias?"

"Huh? Oh right.", the gatekeeper agreed, making sure to avoid eye contact with Meruru lest he give them away. The princess didn't notice, she was just too confused.

"But… I was…", she tried to make sense of it but to no avail. She was positive they hadn't been here this morning. Had she just missed them then?

"Well we better get going! I can't wait to fight that wyvern!", Gino proposed enthusiastically. "It'll be fun!"

Meruru shook her head, deciding to forget about it. What mattered was that they were safe and all ready to go now. She nodded and pumped the air, "Right! Let's gooooo!", she yelled to get herself excited again. With renewed vigour she began walking. Gino gave a grin and winked at Lias before following her. Lias blushed slightly, '_Ah well no harm done I guess. And I slept well so…'_ , and with that thought he followed as well.

And thus they went and defeated the wyvern.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Chibiscuit  
**


End file.
